Storing Rolled Textiles at a Federal Agency’s Collections Facility

Consolidating Collections and Storing Rolled Textiles

Our newest case study features a federal agency based in Washington, D.C., that maintains on-site museums in every state. One of its largest regional collections facilities, located in suburban Maryland, supports a variety of collections care functions, including collections storage for regional museums, artifact preparation and restoration, and temporary storage of collections threatened by flooding and other natural disasters.

The system has room for future growth, and additional rails and storage equipment can be added when the existing cabinets and textile racks are full.

In order to develop the most efficient plan for one area of the building dedicated to storing rolled textiles and small artifact storage, the manager worked with his staff, visited other museum collections care facilities, and talked with his local Spacesaver consultant, who had worked on other museum projects at the facility and around the D.C. area.

Because the collection consisted of a large number of three-dimensional artifacts as well as flags and other textiles, the planning team decided to purchase Spacesaver cabinets and rolled textile racksand install them on Spacesaver compacting carriages. This creative solution has resulted in a clean, compact preservation environment that’s organized, accessible, and reconfigurable.